wine details
reviews
Jancis Robinson 1852% Bouchet (Cabernet Franc), 48% Merlot. Cask sample. Exceptional density for the vintage. As usual restrained, although there is a floral nuance. Fruit-filled palate but with freshness and balance as well. Big tannic frame with imposing but polished tannins. Clearly the potential to age. 13.5% Drink 2030 - 2050. James Lawther MW
Vinous 96-98
The 2021 Lafleur was picked 17 and 24 September for the Merlot and on 2 October for the Bouchets (to give Cabernet Franc its proper name in these parts). It has a very focused bouquet with dark berry fruit, crushed rock, iris flower and just a touch of blue fruit. The palate is silky smooth on the entry with a fine bead of acidity. Beautifully-balanced, conveying palpable energy, this is cool, calm and collected on the finish, brushing off the hurdles of the growing season like water off a duck's back. Baptiste and Julie Guinaudeau have conjured not just one of the finest Pomerols of 2021, but one of the finest Bordeaux wines. Neal Martin
James Suckling 98-99
Woooow! This really rolls off the palate and goes on and on, Full-bodied and so long. Sweet and sour. Cherries, currants. Orange peel. Thought-provokingly energetic. Defines youthful sophistication.
Decanter 97
Inky and nuanced plum in colour, deep and complex aromatics of violets and earthy tobacco, this is a serious wine with fresh acidities and a sense of clarity, purity of fruit, translucence - characteristics that are hard to capture in a solar vintage, and give something to celebrate in a cooler climate year. The density in the tannic structure is hidden, reserved, accentuating a lot of the qualities that you find in Lafleur in a normal year. Unfurls slowly, Cabernet Franc dominant with a curl of gunsmoke that whips through the palate, tomato leaf and redcurrant and only slowly widens to show a fleshier Merlot character. Harvest September 17 to October 2. No chaptilisation. Jane Anson
Wine Advocate 96-98
The Guinaudeau family's mantra is to "never submit to the vintage," and in 2021 that meant 10 sleepless nights of frost protection and a growing season that required quick reactions to perform the necessary treatments without neglecting the other important viticultural tasks of the year. The reward is the profound 2021 Lafleur, a brilliant blend of 52% Cabernet Franc and 48% Merlot that wafts from the glass with aromas of wild berries, violets, rose petals, vine smoke and black truffle. Full-bodied, layered and seamless, it's deep and penetrating, with superb concentration and beautifully refined structuring tannins, concluding with a long, resonant finish. A monument in the making, I wouldn't be surprised to see it transcend my bracketed score when revisited in bottle. William Kelley